Gary DeVore

One of Hollywood's mysteries was solved on July 8, 1998 when the body of screenwriter Gary DeVore was discovered at the bottom of the California Aqueduct in the Antelope Valley near Palmdale, CA. DeVore, who had penned hit films such as "Raw Deal" and "Running Scared" (both 1986) had been missing since June 28, 1997 when he last spoke to his wife from his car phone while driving from Santa Fe, NM to their home in Carpenteria, CA. His body was discovered through the efforts of an amateur detective from San Diego who read about the disappearance and noted the similarities between it and the disappearance of a woman who was later found to have run off the road into the California Aqueduct. While DeVore was missing, many theories about his whereabouts emerged, including ideas that he had been carjacked for his fully equipped late model Ford Explorer or even that he was on a secret CIA mission. The screenwriter was visiting friend Marsha Mason's Santa Fe ranch before his disappearance, where he was working on the script for a remake of 1949's "The Big Steal," which was to have marked his feature directorial debut.